Indonesia reports another H5N1 case

Jan 22, 2008 (CIDRAP News) – Indonesia's health ministry said today that a 30-year-old man from the outskirts of Jakarta has been hospitalized with an H5N1 avian influenza infection.

The health ministry said the man was admitted to a hospital in Jakarta after he got sick with a fever, breathing difficulties, and pneumonia, according to a report today from Reuters. If confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO), his illness will be listed as Indonesia's 120th H5N1 case.

The patient is from Tangerang, a suburb of Jakarta, according to a statement today from Indonesia's National Committee for Avian Influenza Control and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (KOMNAS FBPI). The H5N1 findings were confirmed at the health ministry's Health Research and Development Center and the Eijkman Institute.

The man fell ill on Jan 14 and was initially hospitalized in Tangerang 4 days later, according to KOMNAS FBPI. On Jan 20 he was transferred to Persahabatan Hospital in Jakarta. The source of his infection is under investigation, said the report, which did not list any possible exposure to sick or dead birds.

Several of Indonesia's recent H5N1 patients have hailed from Jakarta suburbs, including Tangerang. Indonesian officials banned backyard poultry in early 2007, but officials have had difficulties enforcing the ban, and local people continue to keep birds in their homes and neighborhoods, according to previous reports.

In related developments, the WHO yesterday confirmed the previously reported H5N1 infection and death of an 8-year-old boy, also from Tangerang. His illness pushed Indonesia's case count to 119, including 97 deaths.

The boy got sick on Jan 7, was hospitalized Jan 16, and died at an avian influenza referral hospital 2 days later, according to a statement yesterday from the WHO. An investigation into the source of the boy's infection was continuing, but the WHO said initial reports reveal that he lived near a chicken slaughterhouse.